


Dorm Mates

by tattoosanta



Series: Alternate Universes [13]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Getting Together, Kind of a nerdy kid/popular kid au if you squint, M/M, Sarcastic Akashi, Teasing, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 05:11:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7561696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattoosanta/pseuds/tattoosanta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seijuurou didn't want a dorm mate, much less the most popular guy on campus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dorm Mates

**Author's Note:**

> I've been really wanting an AU like this, and everyone puts Akashi as the popular kid (I can see why), so I wanted to try my hand at writing something similar.

Shintarou sighed as he dropped his bags in the small dorm and looked around. It looked like someone had already settled in and was currently ignoring him. Which was weird. Usually people at least said hello whenever someone came into the room they were sitting in. He decided to clear his throat to try and get the redhead's attention. "Excuse me, are you my new roommate?" 

"Yeah, I think so." The redhead shrugged a little bit, though he turned around. "I tried to get them to switch me out, but you're stuck with me." He didn't sound terribly interested. Actually, he sounded like he was doing anything but paying attention to their conversation. How rude of him. 

"Well, what's your name?" Shintarou asked with a frown on his face as he closed the door. "If we're going to live together, I want to at least know what to call you." It was rare someone didn't introduce themself almost immediately. 

"Akashi. You can call me Akashi." The young man shrugged. "You probably won't bother to remember it anyway, so you can just say "hey you" if you want to get my attention." He really didn't seem pleased with the fact someone else was in his space. "I already know your name, Midorima-kun. You don't have to introduce yourself to me. And I don't expect we're going to be friends." 

That just kind of pissed Shintarou off. What was with this guy? "You don't have to be so cold about it, Akashi-kun." Maybe he had a bad memory with him? But he couldn't ever remember meeting this kid before. Actually, he didn't know anything about him past his last name. "And if you keep acting like that, we won't be." 

"No skin off my back. I'm not very popular." Akashi shrugged a little bit and finally turned to look at Shintarou. His eyes were just as red as his hair, and behind his reading glasses they shone with something Shintarou couldn't quite put his finger on. "Most people don't like me, anyway." Probably his standoffish personality. "So if you hate me, it would be easier." 

Shintarou's face settled into a frown and he sat down on the empty bed. "You're not very pleasant. That's probably why people don't like you." He said that mostly to confirm to himself why people wouldn't like Akashi, but still. "And I would still like to know your first name." 

"You're nosy." Akashi frowned a little bit. "It's Seijuurou." 

What a pretty name... Not that he would ever admit it to Seijuurou though. "Well thank you. I'll stop being nosy and get out of your business." At least, until he found something else to question him about. And he was sure there would be a lot of things he wanted to question him about in the future. 

Seijuurou rolled his eyes and turned around again in his seat. "Just ask if you want to know anything. It's more annoying if you just sit there and stare at me." He didn't like people staring at him... it made him kind of nervous. Not that he'd ever admit that to Shintarou, though. He was going to avoid admitting he was really just a timid shut in as much as he possibly could. 

"Fine. Why are you so rude?" Shintarou asked, his arms crossed. He was already tired of Seijuurou's biting comments, even though they'd only known each other for a few minutes at most. "There's no reason to be so cold to a stranger." 

Seijuurou closed his DS and turned around again. Now that Shintarou could see his entire face, he didn't look so mean. He actually looked pretty nervous. "I'm just not good with people. If I'm rude, they'll leave me alone..." So it was mostly a defense mechanism, then. "I don't like having to deal with people who constantly ask me questions, either." 

"You don't like people?" As if that was actually a shocker. Shintarou sighed a little bit. "Well... I'll try not to get in the way too often, then." 

Seijuurou blinked a few times. "Oh... well, thank you..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll... be in the dorm all the time." He took all his classes online. "So if you want to be with people, don't worry about leaving stuff here..." He would probably be able to watch over anything from his spot at the computer desk, anyway. He never really moved from there except to go to bed. 

"What, you don't go  _anywhere_?" Shintarou frowned a little bit. "Not even outside to sit in the sun for a while?" No wonder he was so damn pale. "Come on, Akashi-kun... that's not healthy." 

"I'm fine just the way I am." Seijuurou frowned. "I don't want to go outside, anyway. There's too many people there." And someone was sure to want to strike up conversation or something. "So I'll just stay inside, thank you." He'd rather stay inside where he knew nobody but his new dorm mate would bother him anyway. "You can go out all you want, though..." 

Shintarou just sighed a little bit. "Fine then. I'll make it my goal to get you out of this dorm at least once before the end of the semester." And that was months away. The semester hadn't even started yet. He could definitely find a way to do this within the next few months. 

"Fine." Seijuurou huffed a little bit and crossed his arms. "But if you can't do it, don't get mad at me. And you have to give up if you can't, anyway." That was a fair enough trade. At least, that's what he thought. Shintarou might not agree with him. 

And it really didn't seem like he did agree. "I will be able to get you out of the dorm." Though it looked like it was going to prove itself to be a difficult task. If he wanted to get Seijuurou out, he'd have to learn a little bit more about him first.

\-----

When the semester started, the two barely saw each other. Seijuurou spent all of his time in the dorm; either doing his schoolwork, reading a book, or playing a game on the DS. Shintarou, on the other hand, spent the majority of his out in the lecture halls for classes or with his friends on the town. When he would get home at night, Seijuurou had moved from his work desk to his bed; he'd propped himself up on his pillows, and was either reading an American Classic of some sort or playing something with his headphones in. His only greeting was a quiet "welcome back" and a glance up from his activity, but it made him feel less awkward nonetheless. 

He noticed Seijuurou rarely spoke until spoken to, as well. He was content to sit in silence the whole day; headphones in with some sort of music playing. He could entertain himself without ever needing anyone else around, and he seemed happy that way. Though, Shintarou also noticed he seemed content enough to sit and have short conversations. 

In those respects, Seijuurou reminded him much of a cat. He was content on his own with nobody to bother him, and only allowed for conversation and interaction on his terms. He was relatively calm and collected most of the time, but Shintarou noticed his constant staring out the window at storm clouds, and how he got a little jumpy at loud noises. He couldn't quite understand why he was so interested in this reclusive redhead, but every time they were in the same room he found himself trying to notice something new. 

One time, he noticed Seijuurou was surprisingly adept at multi-tasking. He could write a paper and sing quietly to himself at the same time without messing either activity up. Another time he noticed he was left handed. It was a small thing, but it still made him happy to see someone else like himself.

Often times, whenever he noticed something, he wanted to start a conversation. Seijuurou would only humor him for around five to ten minutes, but sometimes--if he was in the mood--he could talk for at least forty-five. He didn't say much, but the content of what he did say more than made up for that. It seemed like he was the kind of guy to spend time thinking about what he wanted to say before he said it.

Needless to say, Shintarou was very surprised when, out of the blue, Seijuurou asked "Do you have a girlfriend?" 

"Do I have a girlfriend...?" Shintarou repeated slowly. "Well, no, I don't. Why do you ask?" It was rare Seijuurou tried to pry into his personal life. Much rarer for him to ask about his relationships with others. 

Seijuurou just shrugged and shook his head. "I just got curious. Girls are always trying to get your attention, so I figured one must have caught your eye. But maybe you don't like girls like that." He had no idea. And he was happy not to have any idea, too. He could probably live his whole life not knowing and not care even a little bit. "One came by yesterday asking for you." 

"And what did you tell her?" Choosing to ignore the comment about his sexuality, Shintarou asked about the girl. "I hope you didn't tell her to come back later..." He didn't really feel like dealing with another girl who just wanted to get with him for the popularity boost. 

"I told her you weren't home, and if she wanted to find you she'd have to go looking." Seijuurou shook his head. "She didn't like that answer." He wasn't surprised by that, either. People usually disliked the answers they got from him. "Apparently she didn't find you." 

"No, she didn't." Shintarou shook his head and sighed a little bit. He was glad someone could turn the girls away, since he was so bad at it. "So thank you for sending her away for me." 

Seijuurou shrugged a little bit. "She wouldn't have been a good girlfriend, anyway. She was pushy and demanding." She had actually demanded to come into the dorm and see if it was just a ploy to get her to go away twice. "And she probably just wanted to brag, anyway." Why he was so bitter about it, he would probably never know. It wasn't like he was  _that_ interested in Shintarou, right? 

"That's all anyone wants when they ask me out." Shintarou shook his head. "But I'm not looking for anyone right now." He paused for a moment. "Let me rephrase that. I am looking for someone, but I want to have a long-term relationship." He wanted to find someone he could spend the rest of his life with; and though that may be hard, he knew he could do it. 

"Well good luck to you, then." Seijuurou shrugged, and like that, the conversation ended. It was always Seijuurou who ended it, too. Shintarou had never once asked to change the subject or just dropped conversation all together like that. Seijuurou just knew when he was finished, and wanted everyone else to know as well. The cat analogy always came to mind when conversations were over. 

Shintarou just sighed a little bit and decided to finish his Physics for the night. If Seijuurou wanted to start another conversation, he could start it himself. 

\----

It was halfway through the semester before Shintarou remembered his promise to Seijuurou before school had even started. He had gotten so caught up in his studies--and in the redhead himself--that he had almost completely forgotten about it. The only reason he remembered was because it was one of the rare days Seijuurou sat  _outside_ the dorm to read. 

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, though slightly teasingly. "I thought you didn't like to go out."

"Very funny, Midorima." Seijuurou scoffed. "It was getting hot in the dorm, and the AC works better out here." It was the middle of June, after all. It always got hot in Tokyo around that time. Before Shintarou could open his mouth, Seijuurou spoke again. "I tried to open the windows, but it didn't help, so I closed them again." 

Shintarou just stood quietly, surprised at how much Seijuurou had divulged without his asking. "Well, I have a fan if you'd rather sit and read in the dorm. I just have to get it out and plug it in." It was kind of old, but it was better than nothing. And, if placed in the right corner of the room, it got everything at the same time. "You don't have to, though, I won't make you." 

"We'll see." Seijuurou shrugged a little bit. 

After some fighting with the fan to get it together, Shintarou finally managed to get it in the correct corner to sweep over the entire dorm. Once he turned it on, he waited for a while, then sighed a little bit. "Mom was right... I'm glad I brought this with me." He had been doubtful, but he knew better than to verbally doubt his mother. She was almost always right, after all.

He poked his head out the door and looked over to where Seijuurou was still sitting, his reading glasses slipping down his nose due to sweat. "The dorm is cooler, Akashi." He had closed the blinds to keep the sun out, too. "If you'd rather come and read in here." 

Seijuurou just nodded and stood up to come into the dorm, his finger between the pages of his book. "Thank you, Midorima." He flopped down onto his bed and picked up his book again from where he left off. "...It really is much cooler in here." That fan was much more powerful than he had expected it to be. 

Shintarou nodded and sat down on his bed to pull out his Language Arts book. He suddenly remembered the conversation they had in April about Shintarou getting a girlfriend. He still hadn't accepted anyone's request. Some of them even seemed relatively genuine. It honestly confused him, so he decided to ask "Akashi, do you ever want to settle down with someone?" 

"Hm?" Seijuurou looked up from his book. "No, not really. Nobody can put up with me for more than a few months, anyway." He shrugged a little bit and fixed his glasses. "Why?"

Shintarou shook his head. "I was just curious." He had kind of expected that answer, but for some reason it didn't set well with him. "If you met someone who could put up with you for more than say... three to four months, would you consider it?" 

"Consider a relationship?" Seijuurou frowned a little bit. "Maybe. But nobody has ever been able to put up with me that long before, and I'm not expecting it out of anyone either." He grabbed his bookmark and sat up to close his book fully. "Are you trying to give me a challenge, Midorima? Or are you challenging yourself?" 

Shintarou bit his lip. "Maybe I am." Maybe he was doing this selfishly, or maybe he just really wanted to get to know Seijuurou more intimately. He couldn't really tell, but the look in Seijuurou's eyes said he would be able to tell if it was a selfish action. He seemed more observant that he had first let on. It was probably a good thing. "But not because I want to be known as the guy who led you on." 

"I wouldn't let you lead me on." Seijuurou shook his head. "But if you really want to try and put up with me until the end of next month, be my guest." What was he saying? Did he really want Shintarou to try and ask him out on a date? Was he the one leading someone on? He couldn't tell, his thoughts were kind of jumbled up. "Now you have two goals to meet. Make it to the end of July without going crazy, and get me out of the dorms." 

Shintarou nodded a little bit. "I think I can manage that." He hoped he could, at least. His pride wasn't about to let him lose either of those little bets they had made. And he was going to make both of those goals, whether he went a little bit crazy in the process or not. 

\-----

July came and went without incident. Shintarou had managed to deal with Seijuurou's eccentricities extremely well, despite his thoughts that sometimes Seijuurou could be a bit much to handle. Shintarou found he didn't mind too terribly much, though. It was almost... cute, in Seijuurou's own way. 

"Well Midorima, you made it through July." Seijuurou sighed as he stared at the calendar. It had just turned August first. He was both surprised and relieved Shintarou hadn't asked to move into another dorm or moved out altogether. He couldn't say why, but the fact he had stuck around and dealt with him with grace seemed to make him at least a little bit happy. "Congratulations. You only have to get me out before September 30th now." 

Shintarou sighed a little bit. "You make it sound like you're held hostage here." Maybe that's how he felt? Who knew. "And let's take this step-by-step." Which was his way of stalling out. He knew he could theoretically ask Seijuurou out, but he wasn't sure he was ready for that. They had spent the past four months slowly getting to know each other, but he still couldn't tell if Seijuurou liked him or not.

Seijuurou just hummed a little bit. " _You_ want to take this step-by-step, Midorima." He was surprisingly eager to see what his dorm mate would do next to try and break him out of his protective shell. Over time, he found he'd rather be in Shintarou's company than by himself, anyway. Maybe it was just idealizing the fact he'd been so patient with him, but he really couldn't help but feel drawn to the other man. 

"So you're saying you want me to get a move on?" Shintarou chuckled quietly and shook his head. "I can't even tell if you really like me yet, Akashi. You're so mysterious, still, and I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize what little we already have."

"I do like you, Midorima." Seijuurou blinked. "I thought I had made that obvious." Apparently not. He could be a little too subtle with his actions sometimes. Still, he thought his more frequent involvement in conversation and willingness to stop what he was doing to listen to him was enough. 

Shintarou stopped for a moment. "Oh... I suppose you have." He must not have been paying attention. Seijuurou had been so subtle about the change, it felt natural whenever he'd get an actual greeting from him instead of just a "welcome back" like he used to. 

He stood up then and moved over to Seijuurou's bed. He sat down on the edge near the end of the bed and took a deep breath. "So, now that it's been four months, and it seems like you like me more than you like other people, I have a question for you." He really was the king of stalling until he couldn't anymore, wasn't he? "...Will you go out with me, Akashi?" 

Seijuurou couldn't help but smile a little bit at the question, and he sat up straighter to get closer to Shintarou. "...I'm willing to give it a shot. Just for you, Midorima." He hoped the butterflies in his stomach meant something good was on the horizon, too. "And... if we're going to be dating... you can use my first name if you want to." He actually really wanted to hear it. 

Shintarou smiled softly in return and risked leaning over to kiss Seijuurou's forehead. "I'll get used to calling you Seijuurou, then. And you can call me by mine as well, for the record." 

Seijuurou blushed a little bit. "R-Right... Well, now you have an excuse to get me out of the dorms." He sure had a lot to get used to about this whole dating thing. He was pretty lucky his boyfriend was his dorm mate, as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> Too long? Not long enough? Tell me in the comments!  
> Here have a poll for what kind of AU one-shot to write next:  
> http://goo.gl/GpDDfx


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